Vertically-oriented barrier

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein include a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier ( 40, 70 ), a barrier ( 40, 70 ) assembled from the kit, and a method of manufacturing such kit. The barrier ( 40, 70 ) is formed from at least two differently-shaped interlocking components ( 20, 26, 50, 60 ), and each interlocking component ( 20, 26, 50, 60 ) has at least one recession ( 22, 24, 52, 66 ), at least one protrusion ( 28, 54, 64 ), or both. The protrusions ( 28, 54, 64 ) are inserted into the recessions ( 22, 24, 52, 66 ) to produce a barrier ( 40, 70 ). The interlocking component ( 20, 26, 50, 60 ) may be produced by slicing suitably-shaped rods ( 160 ), and the rods ( 160 ) may be produced by extrusion.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of the Feb. 24, 2019 filing of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/809,664, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Vertically-oriented barriers, such as walls, fences, gates, screens, latticeworks, and even temporary partitions, are prevalent in the art to block human, animal, vehicular, etc. traffic, and other times are used to block or at least reduce the passage of light or wind. The barriers may be used to block or reduce the visibility of one side of the barrier from the other side of the barrier to provide privacy. Such barriers may assume a generally planar shape, but they are not limited accordingly. The barriers may instead have a zigzag shape or a curved/serpentine shape, examples of which are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively.

Two common methods implemented to produce vertically-oriented barriers are labeled “subtractive methods” and “additive methods.” A subtractive method generally begins with a solid, continuous material into which holes and openings are formed therethrough. Stamping, sawing, laser or water cutting, machining, and milling are common processes used to create the holds and openings. In contrast, additive methods commonly begin with metal bars or rods, which are subsequently cut, bent to shape, and then welded to each other to create a decorative and strong mesh. Both subtractive and additive barrier manufacturing methods have known drawbacks.

For example, subtractive methods can be either sequential and slow or parallel and very expensive. Sequential subtractive methods that are performed using a general-purpose cutting machine, such as a milling machine, can be slow, if the machine has a single cutting tool that cuts the holes in the stock material one-by-one. Parallel subtractive methods can be very expensive, if a special tool must be made for stamping in parallel a plurality of holes in the beginning stock material.

The additive methods, by their very nature, are sequential, unless expensive duplication of machinery is implemented. Thus, the sequential nature, if not expensive, is slow.

Further, both the additive and the subtractive manufacturing methods are generally limited to use with materials having essentially uniform and limited thicknesses. The thicknesses are limited, because the cutting tools have a finite depth into which they can penetrate the stock material, and also because a stock material that is too thick cannot be perforated by stamping without also becoming distorted in shape.

The present inventor recognized the need for a method of manufacturing a vertically-oriented barrier that is both fast and inexpensive but not limited for use with relatively thin beginning stock materials that would only produce thin barriers. What was needed was a method suitable for producing barriers of much greater thicknesses.

SUMMARY

The present inventor developed method of manufacturing a vertically-oriented barrier, which is both relatively fast and inexpensive. The method could moreover produce thicker barriers. The invention may be embodied as a method of manufacture, the final product manufactured, and a kit of manufactured elements to be assembled into the final product.

The invention may be embodied as a method of manufacturing a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier. The method includes: acquiring a first rod having a major dimension and a constant first cross-section normal to the major dimension, the perimeter of the first cross-section having at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both; acquiring a second rod having a major dimension and a constant second cross-section normal to the major dimension, the second cross-section differing in shape from the first cross-section, the perimeter of the second cross-section having at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both, the protrusions of the second cross-section sized and shaped to fit within the recessions of the first cross-section, and the protrusions of the first cross-section sized and shaped to fit within the recessions of the second cross-section; repeatedly slicing the first rod at an angle to its major dimension; and repeatedly slicing the second rod at an angle to its major dimension. The sliced segments of the first and second rods become interlocking components of a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier.

The invention may also be embodied as a vertically-oriented barrier. The barrier has first and second interlocking components. The first interlocking components each have at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both. The second interlocking components differ in shape from the first interlocking components, and each second interlocking component has at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both. The protrusions of either the first or the second interlocking components are inserted into the recessions of the second or the first interlocking components, respectively.

The invention may also be embodied as a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier. The kit has a plurality of first and second interlocking components. The first interlocking components each have at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both. The second interlocking components differ in shape from the first interlocking components, and each of the second interlocking components has at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both. The protrusions of either the first or the second interlocking components are sized and shaped to fit within the recessions of the second or the first interlocking components, respectively.

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are briefly described as follows:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described below in the appended claims, which are read in view of the accompanying description including the following drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional zigzag barrier;

FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional curved/serpentine barrier;

FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate components of a vertically-oriented barrier and how they relate to one another in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate components of a vertically-oriented barrier and how they relate to one another in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show how the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3C may be modified to become an alternate embodiment;

FIGS. 6A and 5B further illustrate the modification of FIGS. 5A and 5B;

FIGS. 7A and 7B show how the embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3C may be modified to become yet another alternate embodiment;

FIGS. 8A-9B illustrate another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 provides a flow chart representing a method of manufacturing a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 11 illustrates an example rod, which must be acquired to execute steps in the method of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention summarized above and defined by the claims below will be better understood by referring to the present detailed description of embodiments of the invention. This description is not intended to limit the scope of claims but instead to provide examples of the invention. As disclosed herein, the present invention may be embodied as a kit, a product assembled from the kit, and a method of manufacturing such kit.

One exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3C. Two interlocking components, an arm 20 and a connector 26, which differ in shape, are each replicated multiple time and interconnected to form a structure 40. As elaborated upon below, the structure 40 becomes a vertically-oriented barrier, such as a decorative screen or passage restrictor, as non-limiting examples.

In this embodiment, each arm 20 has two recessions 20, 24, and each connector 26 has multiple protrusions 28, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. As shown in FIGS. 3C, the protrusions 28 are sized and shaped to fit within the recessions 20, 24 and are thereby inserted into the recessions 20, 24 to form the barrier 40. Friction acts to hold the interlocking components 20, 26 together, and the bonds may be strengthened by welding, gluing, riveting, or bolting, or by stamping to distort the components slightly to decrease even more the tendency for the components to slide apart.

The interlocking components at the periphery of the barrier 40 may be trimmed to provide straighter edges to the structure. A frame having a U-shaped cross-section may be attached to the edges to increase the stability of the structure. The trimmed interlocking components and the frame are not illustrated in the drawings for clarity.

Both arm 20 and connector 26 optionally have holes, internal openings 21 and 22, respectively. Such openings 21 and 22 may serve to reduce weight, wind resistance, and material costs and also to provide a decorative effect. In the present embodiment, the holes extend normal to the direction the protrusion extends, that is, normal to the plane of the drawing sheet, but in other embodiments the holes may extend at a different angle to the direction the protrusion extends.

In alternate embodiments, the recessions and protrusions of arm 20 and connector 26 may be interchanged. In other embodiments, a single interlocking component may have both one or more recessions and one or more protrusions.

Another exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4C. As shown, interlocking components 50 and 60 have essentially triangular shapes. Interlocking component 50 has a recession 52, two protrusions 54, and a hole/opening 56. Interlocking component 60 has a protrusion 64, two recessions 66, and a hole/opening 62. Multiple copies of interlocking components 50 and 60 are joined together to form structure 70.

The embodiments discussed above, such as structures 40 and 70, are planar barriers formed using planar interlocking components, that is, interlocking components having recessions and protrusions lying in the same plane. However, embodiments of the invention are not limited to planar barriers. The vertically-oriented barriers can have zigzag or curved/serpentine shapes instead. Such shapes can increase the resistance to forces such as wind and can more easily stand unassisted on their support surfaces, such as soil or pavement.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 5A and 5B. FIG. 5A illustrates a top view 80 and a front view 82 of a planar interlocking element resembling that of connector 26 in FIG. 3B. When folded somewhat about the vertical line of symmetry 88, though, the shape is more accurately represented by the top view 84 and a front view 85 in FIG. 5B. The left part 87 and the right part 86 of the interlocking component are no longer in the same plane, and the protrusions do not all lay in the same plane. In alternate embodiments fashioning the connectors with recessions instead of protrusions, not all the recessions lay in the same plane. As elaborated upon next, the folding of the connectors enables the barrier to have a zigzag shape.

FIG. 6A illustrates a barrier resembling barrier 40 of FIG. 3C. This barrier includes connectors 92, 94, 96 and arms 90, 102. The barrier is folded along vertical lines 100.

Some of the connectors and arms, such as elements 90 and 94, extend across regions to be folded, as represented by vertical lines 100. These connectors and arms can be folded before assembly to the particular pre-specified desired angle. Other connectors and arms, such as elements 92, 96, do not extend across regions to be folded, so they remain planar. When assembling the barrier, the arms and connectors join as illustrated in FIG. 6A to obtain a zig-zag shape as shown in the FIG. 6B. FIG. 6B provides a top-view cross-section of un-bent arms 110 and bent connectors 112 of the zigzag barrier. By selecting the suitable locations and angles of the bending for the interlocking components, the barrier can be designed to closely follow any perimeter, such as that of a wall or a fence. It should be noted that, for building such a barrier using the connectors and arms of FIG. 6A, only four differently-shaped interlocking components need be used: planar and folded connectors, and planar and folded arms.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in top-view in FIG. 7A. The interlocking components, connectors 122 and arms 120, are curved into a shape that is generally a cylindrical segment when viewed from the top. The arms 120 interlock with the connectors 122, thereby providing the barrier with convex and concave surfaces. The result is a barrier having a serpentine shape.

FIG. 7B represents a front view of the barrier of FIG. 7A, but it is not to scale in view of the limitation of depicting a non-planar shape on a planar drawing sheet while maintaining clarity of the shapes of the interlocking components. The arms 132 that are horizontal in the barrier are curved around an axis that is essentially perpendicular to the length of the arm, while arms 130 that are diagonal in the wall are curved around an axis that is diagonal to the length of the arm. In general, for a vertically-extending barrier, each arm 130, 132 curves around a vertical axis, and such facilitates the interlocking of the arms with the connectors.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 8A-9B illustrating another embodiment of the invention, which increases the options of angles at which interlocking components may join with each other. FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate interlocking components, with a protrusion 140 and another with a recession 150, respectively, both of which are formed diagonally with respect to the three other major boundaries of the interlocking components.

FIG. 9A illustrates one configuration of the interlocking components joined by inserting the protrusion 140 into the recession 150. The resulting shape of the two interlocking components together is substantially rectangular.

In contrast, FIG. 9B illustrates a different shape resulting when one of the two interlocking components is rotated outside of the plane of the drawings about an axis passing through the protrusion/recession to the opposite boundary. The angle of the diagonal edge can be adjusted to provide various desired shapes. For example, when the angle of the diagonal edges is 45 degrees, the resulting shape when the two patterned elements are joined resemble an “L”.

The invention may also be embodied as a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier. For example, the elements for building the barrier may be manufactured and shipped unassembled for ease of transport and later be assembled at the final site desired for the barrier. The kit of this embodiment has interlocking components of at least two different shapes, each interlocking component having one or more recessions, protrusions, or both. Although not yet inserted therein, the protrusions the interlocking components are sized and shaped to fit appropriately within the recessions. As with other embodiments, the interlocking components may have holes extending therethrough, either normal to the direction the protrusions extend or at any other non-zero angle to the plane of the interlocking elements. The interlocking components may be planar, folded, or curved, analogous to embodiments disclosed above to produce barriers that are planar, zigzag, or serpentine, respectively.

The invention may also be embodied as a method of manufacturing a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier. Reference is made to the flow chart in FIG. 10.

The method begins by acquiring a rod. (STEP 1.) The rod has a major dimension, which is its length, and a constant cross-section normal to its major dimension. FIG. 11 illustrates an example rod 160 and indicates its major dimension by a horizontal arrow 170. The perimeter of the rod's cross-section has at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both. The perimeter may resemble any of the perimeters of the interconnecting components of FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 8A, or 8B, as non-limiting examples.

The next step is to acquire another rod. (STEP 2.) This rod also has a major dimension and a constant cross-section normal to its major dimension. This cross-section though has a shape that differs from shape of the first rod's cross-section. The perimeter of the second rod's cross-section has at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both. The protrusions of the second rod's cross-section are sized and shaped so that they could fit within the recessions of the first rod's cross-section, and the protrusions of the first rod's cross-section are sized and shaped so that they could fit within the recessions of the second rod's cross-section.

The next step is to repeatedly slice the first rod at an angle to its major dimension. (STEP 3.) The angle can be perpendicular to the rod's major dimension, but any non-zero angle may be chosen.

The final step is to repeatedly slice the second rod at an angle to its major dimension. (STEP 4.) The angle can also be perpendicular to the rod's major dimension, but any non-zero angle may be chosen.

The sliced segments of the first and second rods become interlocking components of a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier. The interconnecting components may resemble any of those illustrated in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 8A, or 8B, as non-limiting examples, depending on the cross-sections that the first and second rods had.

Variations of the above-disclosed method are within the scope of the invention. For example, the first and second rods to be sliced may be produced by extrusion. The extrusion die would be designed to produce the desired rod cross-sections.

Another variation of the above-disclosed method is to acquire rods having interior holes extending along their major dimension. One method to achieve such holes is to design the die for extrusion accordingly. Acquiring rods having interior holes extending along their major dimension causes the interlocking components of the kit to have holes extending therethrough, as shown in above embodiments.

Having thus described exemplary embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent that various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Alternations, modifications, and improvements of the disclosed invention, although not expressly described above, are nonetheless intended and implied to be within spirit and scope of the invention. For example, connectors can be sliced thickly enough to support more than one layer of arms, which enables assembly of multiple designs using the same connectors. Further, the different layers can have different arms patterns, and the arms can have different shapes, as long as they are able to reach common connectors.

Accordingly, the foregoing discussion is intended to be illustrative only; the invention is limited and defined only by the following claims and equivalents thereto. 

1. A method of manufacturing a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier, the method comprising: acquiring a first rod having a major dimension and a constant first cross-section normal to the major dimension, the perimeter of the first cross-section having at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both; acquiring a second rod having a major dimension and a constant second cross-section normal to the major dimension, the second cross-section differing in shape from the first cross-section, the perimeter of the second cross-section having at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both, the protrusions of the second cross-section sized and shaped to fit within the recessions of the first cross-section, and the protrusions of the first cross-section sized and shaped to fit within the recessions of the second cross-section; repeatedly slicing the first rod at an angle to its major dimension; and repeatedly slicing the second rod at an angle to its major dimension; wherein the sliced segments of the first and second rods become interlocking components of a kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier.
 2. The manufacturing method of claim 1 further comprising: extruding material to produce the first and second rods to be sliced.
 3. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein the first and second rods are sliced perpendicularly to their major dimensions.
 4. The manufacturing method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the interlocking components have holes extending therethrough.
 5. A vertically-oriented barrier comprising: a plurality of first interlocking components, each first interlocking component having at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both; and a plurality of second interlocking components differing in shape from the first interlocking components, each second interlocking component having at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both; wherein the protrusions of either the first or the second interlocking components are inserted into the recessions of the second or the first interlocking components, respectively.
 6. The barrier of claim 5, wherein at least some of the interlocking components have holes extending therethrough.
 7. The barrier of claim 6, wherein all of the interlocking components have holes extending therethrough.
 8. The barrier of claim 6 wherein the hole of an interlocking component extends normal to the direction the protrusion extends.
 9. The barrier of claim 5, wherein the recessions and the protrusions of the interlocking components lie in the same plane.
 10. The barrier of claim 5, wherein for at least some of the interlocking components at least one of the recessions, at least one of the protrusions, or both do not lie in the same plane.
 11. The barrier of claim 10, wherein the interlocking components form a barrier having a zigzag shape.
 12. The barrier of claim 10, wherein the interlocking components form a barrier having a serpentine shape.
 13. A kit for assembling a vertically-oriented barrier, the kit comprising: a plurality of first interlocking components, each first interlocking component having at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both; and a plurality of second interlocking components differing in shape from the first interlocking components, each second interlocking component having at least one recession, at least one protrusion, or both; wherein the protrusions of either the first or the second interlocking components are sized and shaped to fit within the recessions of the second or the first interlocking components, respectively.
 14. The kit of claim 13, wherein at least some of the interlocking components have holes extending therethrough.
 15. The kit of claim 14, wherein all of the interlocking components have holes extending therethrough.
 16. The kit of claim 14, wherein the hole of an interlocking component extends normal to the direction the protrusion extends.
 17. The kit of claim 13, wherein the recessions and the protrusions of the interlocking components lie in the same plane.
 18. The kit of claim 13, for at least some of the interlocking components at least one of the recessions. at least one of the protrusions, or both do not lie in the same plane.
 19. The kit of claim 18, wherein the interlocking components form a barrier having a zigzag shape.
 20. The kit of claim 18, wherein the interlocking components form a barrier having a serpentine shape. 